Review: WET's Bizarre and Beautiful 99 WAYS TO F**K A SWAN

Kim Rosenstock's play "99 Ways to F**k a Swan" currently being offered from Washington Ensemble Theatre is not going to be everyone's cup of tea with its outrageously bizarre themes and extremely dark and twisted humor. But if you can see your way past its surreal nature, the language, the nudity and (as the title would suggest) some frank discussions on bestiality what you have left is a stunningly performed and beautifully crafted twisted love story that deserves attention.

In what is possibly one of the most insane romantic comedies I've see, we meet Dave (Ryan Higgins), a man attempting to work through his own issues by joining a writing class. His teacher Fiona (Jonelle Jordan) has assigned the class the subject of the Greek myth "Leda and the swan" to write about. What then unfolds in Dave's writing is a bizarre love story in three parts spanning thousands of years. In ancient Greece, Dave examines his version of the myth as Tynadareus (Martin G. Krouse) hides away with his beautiful new wife Leda (Leah Salcido Pfenning) only to eventually lose her to a God. 3000 years later Michelangelo (Devin Bannon) is commissioned by Alfonso (Jose Abaoag) to paint a love scene for his unfaithful wife Lucrezia (Kamaria Hallums-Harris) only to be distracted by Alfonso's handsome brother-in-law Francesco (Alex Garnett). Then 350 years later Rudolph (Abaoag) buys the painting for his unfaithful wife Mary (Kathy Hsieh).

It's a sick, twisted, dark, and cringe inducing piece and I loved it. Rosenstock shows off her gift of delicious dialog in the piece while director Ali Mohamed el-Gasseir shows off his ability to gorgeously and seamlessly weave an audience in and out of multiple scenes and locales with ease. And when coupled with an ingeniously disposable set from Tommer Peterson and gorgeous lighting from Evan Anderson this already stunning piece becomes a visual feast as well. True the story at times can get a bit lost in itself and its desire to shock but the end result and overall look into love, lust and deviance completely soars like a post-coital swan.

The ensemble is truly a thing of a beauty each of them completely committed to the tone and surreal nature of the piece and each like a cog in this well oiled machine of a production as the actors and scenes effortlessly shift in and out. Nobody does broken and borderline crazy like Higgins and his comedic timing knows no bounds. And Jordan matches his crazy timing and makes for the perfect counterpart. Pfenning and Krouse take on the Greek myth beautifully and Pfenning's eventual imprisonment is truly heartbreaking. Abaoag makes for a hilarious disrespected husband in both time periods but also manages some wonderfully touching moments as he breaks under the weight of his own issues. Hallums-Harris lends a sassy and sultry air making her an alluring siren with attitude. And Bannon, Garnett and Hsieh bring in some hysterical comedy bits to the piece whether they're desperate lovers, horny painters or slimy web site creators.

With a title like "99 Ways to F**k a Swan" I really wasn't sure what I was in for. On the surface it sounds like a desperate attempt to get butts in the seats with pure shock value. And while that may be true and while at times the shock value may get a bit gratuitous, the overall work itself amounts to an amazingly layered piece and Washington Ensemble Theatre's production does that complexity justice. And so with my three letter rating system I give the show a shocked, giggling, touched and slightly sickened YAY! And any play that can elicit all those feelings in one night definitely has a lot going for it.

"99 Ways to F**k a Swan" from Washington Ensemble Theatre performs at 12th Avenue Arts through October 12th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.washingtonensemble.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.